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<title>Shrouds of Betrayal by WardofWinters (QoLife)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26569687">Shrouds of Betrayal</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/QoLife/pseuds/WardofWinters'>WardofWinters (QoLife)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Grover is a good friend, Hurt Percy, I wrote this after ranting on the discord, Percy is Confused, Percy is hurt, Percy is sad, The funeral shroud scene at the end of book one was fucked up, annabeth tries, here's me actually showing a realistic reaction, they're kids so you gotta cut them some slack</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:46:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,103</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26569687</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/QoLife/pseuds/WardofWinters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When you risk your life to save the world and come home to see that no one cared for your fate, well, you tend to not be happy.</p><p>Or when Percy returns to camp and burns the shroud the Ares cabin made he doesn't just laugh it off, he actually has feelings about it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>311</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Shrouds of Betrayal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I was kinda pissed when I was rereading the books and read the funeral shroud scene. Percy risked his life and the Ares cabin made him a joke of a shroud. I didn't think his reaction was realistic, not in the slightest, so I've adjusted it.</p><p>Come yell at me on tumblr: @Percabeth4Life<br/>Come chat with me on discord: https://discord.gg/6Pf8JgJ</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>We were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course everybody treated us as if we’d won some reality-TV contest. According to camp tradition, we wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in our honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where we got to burn the burial shrouds our cabins had made for us in our absence…</p><p>Or well, the shrouds Annabeth’s cabin made for her and… what was made for me…</p><p>Annabeth’s was beautiful, you could see the love and care they put into it. It was made of the finest grey silk, owls embroidered in intricate patterns that almost seemed to shape a city.</p><p>Mine… mine was made by the Ares cabin, they were the only cabin willing to make it.</p><p>My stomach twisted looking at it even as I plastered a smile on my face.</p><p>It’s obvious no one really cared if I lived or died, my shroud alone shows how little anyone cared about me at this camp.</p><p>My shroud was made out of an old yellowing bedsheet, the border painted with red smiley faces with X’ed-out eyes. In the center was the word LOSER painted really big.</p><p>We burned it, and I pretended I wasn’t affected by it, but it really did hurt.</p><p>
  <strong>OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO</strong>
</p><p>The days that followed were so weird. Everyone was being so nice to me, they all wanted to be friends.</p><p>But they left me alone before? Actively refused to be around me? But now that I’m some hero they want to spend time with me?</p><p>I avoided them.</p><p>I scheduled my activities to avoid the other cabins, except the Athena cabin (because Annabeth is there).</p><p>It was so weird, how much everyone tried to spend time with me. Before the quest they avoided me at all costs.</p><p>I talked with Grover still of course, my one real friend (I’m friends with Annabeth but she doesn’t understand why I’m avoiding everyone, Grover at least seems to understand, or at least not talk about it).</p><p>He joined me for activities and stuff, at least until the Fourth of July, when he left for his quest to find Pan.</p><p>Then I was alone.</p><p>
  <strong>OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO</strong>
</p><p>My dreams were filled with the pit, whispers from the ancient, evil voice down there (Kronos).</p><p>He pointed out how I was treated, tossed aside, taken back when I was suddenly useful.</p><p>I have to say, he’s not good at manipulation, but he’s not even trying really. He’s just… honest.</p><p>Nothing that he says is wrong.</p><p>The Gods don’t care about me (Didn’t Zeus send monster after me when I was on this quest for him? Didn’t he send that lightning bolt down at the beginning? Doesn’t Mr. D show no care for us? Doesn’t he get our names wrong constantly? Didn’t Hades threaten my mother and me? Didn’t he promise us eternal torment for something I didn’t do?).</p><p>The campers don’t care about me (Didn’t they toss me aside the moment my parent was revealed? Maybe they were scared, but none of them stood by me. Only Grover would talk to me still. Didn’t they avoid me? Change activity times to stay away? Refuse to work with me? Wasn’t I abandoned?).</p><p>Why do I stay here? Because it’s safe? Is it really?</p><p>Kronos whispered in my ear, and this time I didn’t send him away.</p><p>
  <strong>OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO</strong>
</p><p>The end of camp was coming, they’d sent us forms to fill out to decide what we’d do (and if you don’t then you get eaten, the care is underwhelming).</p><p>I kept my head down and kept working (the only one that I still spent time with really was Luke, he’s the only one who didn’t leave me before the quest, the only one to support me besides Grover).</p><p>I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’m not staying at camp.</p><p>I trained and trained, I need to survive out there (because I don’t know if I’ll come back to camp, not now not ever).</p><p>Luke taught me more tricks, I beat him some spars now, he told me stories, talked about his quest and what he thought (he didn’t like the Gods, I’d gained an understanding of him at this point, he is very against the Gods).</p><p>I trained and trained and pretended everything was okay (the other campers had stopped trying to get close to me, I heard them whisper about me being stuck up, about me thinking I’m too good for them. I didn’t know how to say that it was them that left me first).</p><p>
  <strong>OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO</strong>
</p><p>I laid in bed and listened to Kronos’ whispers, I listened and closed my eyes.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>choose</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>What do I choose?</p><p>
  <strong>OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO </strong>
</p><p>Annabeth was getting frustrated with me, I know she was, but I can’t help my feelings.</p><p>I know why they avoided me, logically I do.</p><p>I can’t help but feel that they only care for me so long as I do what they think is good.</p><p>I don’t want to live my life for them.</p><p>I won’t live my life for them.</p><p>I turned back to Luke.</p><p>I started to avoid Annabeth too.</p><p>
  <strong>OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO</strong>
</p><p>I thought of Zeus’ comments when I gave him his stolen Bolt.</p><p>I thought of how everyone was so worried about me existing.</p><p>I thought of how Kronos would mention a prophecy when no other would (he whispers a lot in my dreams, and a lot of it is so true it hurts).</p><p>I thought of how alone I was.</p><p>I thought of my choice.</p><p>
  <strong>OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO</strong>
</p><p>Luke asked to do once last hunt through the woods before camp ended, he offered me a smile and held his mortal-killer monster-killer sword.</p><p>We went into the woods and killed nothing.</p><p>I had my backpack because I had already packed.</p><p>We sat and drank some coke.</p><p>He asked me to choose.</p><p>He asked me to leave.</p><p>He held out his hand.</p><p>I thought of my choice, of the Gods, of the campers.</p><p>I took his hand.</p><p>
  <strong>OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>When the world tells you that you are nothing</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Unless you bow to their whims</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Do you bow</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Or do you stand on your own</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you enjoyed, don't forget to comment, they feed my soul!</p><p>This is just a one-shot :) I won't be continuing it anytime soon.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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